On a warm and sunny afternoon, President Cheree gaveled the club to order; she then asked Michael Scar to lead the Flag salute, and Dave Watson to give the invocation. While lunch was being served, Cheree thanked all the people who helped make the meeting a success, including especially Ginger, without whom the meeting would be grim indeed.
We had one visiting Rotarian, Randy Strong, President of the Westlake Sunrise club, and today’s speaker. We had three additional guests: Gil Webber, Chester Jaquille and James Leech.
Announcements
Bob Daddi is resigning from the club after 25 years of service
Cheree will be leading the balloon parade at the Aug. 14 Concert in the Park
5th Friday celebration will be a spaghetti western at Bocali’s
There will be a memorial for Charlie Thompson on August 3 at Ojai Presbyterian Church
Dave Watson gave an historical overview of the “Rotarian of the Month” award, and read a moving account of “Who packs your parachute”?
Kay Bliss is the deserved recipient of this month’s “Rotarian of Action Award”. For more information on this prestigious award,
click here.
Sandy Buechley is the deserved recipient of this month’s “Parachute Rotarian of the month” for her diligent and selfless efforts to keep our club’s finances in order.
Rotary Humor
Fining by Matt Clements
In an attempt to give our club a veneer of culture, Matt chose as his topic American poetry and poets. Matt would read a section of a poem and ask who was the author and what was the title. While Matt’s intent was noble, the results were disappointing: not a single one of Matt’s recitations generated a spark of recognition.
Program: Randy Strong on Membership
Randy Strong, President of the Westlake Sunrise Club, gave a sobering talk on Rotary Membership, and the lack of clear identity of Rotary among the general public. Here are some of the more salient points of Randy’s talk:
- Worldwide membership has plateaued at 1.2 Million; with US membership actually dropping.
- Based on interviews Randy conducted and filmed at a Rotarian Chili cook-off, there are many misperceptions about what Rotary is and what Rotarians do.
- It seems that Rotary sends out too many messages about our identity.
- He suggests that the Rotary message be boiled down to:
- Teams of Men and Women
- Making the world a better place
- Having fun and fellowship
- Randy wants to include the “4-way test” and “Service above Self”
Randy then showed a 2.5 minute You Tube video which provides a fresh and appealing vision of Rotary Activities and People.